Overview

Size: 996km²

The park was gazetted in 1991 and was recognized as a World Heritage site in 1994 and Ramsar site in 2008.

Highest point: 5,109m above sea level on Mt Stanley’s Margherita Peak. Mt. Stanley is bisected by the border with the DR Congo.

The explorer Henry Stanley placed the Rwenzori on the map on 24th May 1888. He labeled it ‘Ruwenzori’, a local name which he recorded as meaning “Rain-Maker” or “Cloud-King.” The oldest recorded person to reach Margherita Peak was Ms Beryl Park aged 78 in 2010.

The Mountains of the moon is made up of six different mountains. Mounts Stanley (5,109m), Speke (4,890m) and Baker (4,843m) and all have permanent snow and glaciers despite being just miles north of the equator.

The Rwenzori is endowed with unique vegetation and some of the rare plants found here include tussocks, Carex runssoroensis, as well as Helichrysum stuhlmannii (everlasting flower) and Alchemilla spp. (Ladies Mantle). Most eminent in this zone are the giant rosette plants of the genera Senecio and Lobelia (primarily S. adnivalis, S. friesiorum and L. wollastonii), which are well-developed in ravines and other sheltered or well-watered sites.

The park is also blessed with over 20 lakes and Lake Mahoma (2,651m) is the most accessible in the bird-rich forest of the Central Circuit. The beautiful Lake Bujuku lies at the head of the deep, glacier carved Bujuku valley in the shadow of Mounts Stanley, Baker and Speke. In the Nyamwamba Valley, ascended by the Kilembe Trail, dams created by glacial moraine have created a string of eight delightful lakes. Several rivers and streams originate from the mountain, forming lifelines for the flore and flora in the flood plains and supporting local communities.

Species

The park is host to a number of endemic species which include 6 butterflies, 19 bird species, 1 hawkmoth and 12 small mammals that occur only here and/or in a few other highlands on either side of the Albertine Rift (including the Rwenzori hyrax Dendrohyrax arboreus ruwenzorii and Rwenzori Leopard Panthera pradus ruwenzori). Twelve species are on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Animals including the ‘vulnerable’ Moon striped Mouse (Hybomys lunaris), the ‘vulnerable’ Rwenzori Horse-shoe Bat (Rhinolophus ruwenzori), the ‘near threatened’ Rwenzori Otter Shrew (Micropotomogale ruwenzori) and the ‘least concern’ Rwenzori Turaco (Ruwenzorornis johnstoni)

The 70 mammal species here include six Albertine Rift endemics; 12 are endemic to the park and three are rare species. Other mammals include the elephant, chimpanzee, Rwenzori otter and leopard. Though wildlife is difficult to spot in the dense forest, do look out for primates such as colobus (Angola and black-and-white varieties are both present) and blue monkeys; small antelope such as bushbucks; and unusual reptiles such as the three-horned chameleon.

With over 217 bird species recorded including 17 Albertine Rift endemics, Rwenzori is not only famous but also a very important destination for birders. Some of the birds include the Rwenzori Turaco, Barred Long-tailed Cuckoo, Long-eared Owl, Handsome Francolin, Cinnamon-chested Bee-eater, Archers’ Robin-chat, White-starred Robin, Rwenzori Batis, Montane Sooty Boubou, Lagden’s Bush Shrike, Slender-billed Starling, Blue-headed Sunbird, Golden-winged Sunbird, Strange Weaver and several varieties of Barbets, Greenbuls, Apalises, IIladopsis, Flycatchers and Crimsonwings.